Measurement procedures used for workplace measurements of chemical agents need to fulfill certain quality criteria. According to the European standard EN 482 the expanded uncertainty is the crucial factor in deciding whether a measurement procedure can be used for workplace measurements. For the purpose of this study, one personal sampler and four direct-reading instruments (DRIs) commonly used for workplace measurements of mercury were tested. In a first step, a measurement procedure consisting of a personal air sampler with adsoQUICK as sorbent material and a DMA-80 mercury-measuring device using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was validated according to EN 482. The expanded uncertainty of this analytical method was found to be below 30%, deeming it suitable for workplace measurements of mercury vapor according to EN 482. In a second step a round robin test including four DRIs (three different manufacturers and one replicate) was performed to determine the comparability of these devices to the validated analytical method as well as among themselves. Three of the four DRIs yielded average values between 96 and 106% when compared to the personal air sampler results, whereas the forth yielded 122%. The round robin test demonstrated a good comparability of the DRIs with each other and with the personal air sampler.

This article is published in the Journal "Gefahrstoffe - Reinhaltung der Luft", Volume 81, Issue 9-10, pp. 339-344 (www.gefahrstoffe.de).